Nano’s innocence - a great democratic step forward
Now that the Nano case has been legally concluded, political judgment has replaced it. Not by the press, which is swayed by sentiment, but by a higher court: that of public opinion. For some time now, this opinion has decided to consider the former prime minister Nano innocent. From this moment on, the fact of his legal innocence will serve as the cornerstone for analyzing the entire Nano case on the political and ethical plane. The whole process was a scandal manufactured by politics, designed to condemn its opponent morally and legally. Much has been said and written about this, and it will continue to be discussed and written about for a long time. But more than the people in politics, the public, especially the untainted public, has drawn the proper lessons from it. These lessons concern the violation of several principles of a free and democratic society. First, the principle that sees a person as innocent until proven guilty was violated. After that, other violations followed in turn: the public condemnation of the opponent, insults, slander, forgery, manipulation of the law, violation of human dignity, and so on. The communist system used all these means to fight its enemies. The democratic system must do the opposite. Failures in this direction show its serious weakness.
If history is to give a name to the period Albania is going through, one of those names could also be “the time of scandal.” Just mentioning some of the abuses committed over these past two and a bit years makes it possible to understand how unfortunate the atmosphere in which we live is. Before Albanians, like in a bad dream, paraded rampant corruption, pyramids of slander, threats and pressures of every kind. Everywhere one hears of psychological terror, poverty, revenge, of a state that cannot protect its citizens. It has come to the point where social and political tension of the day is as heavy as extreme poverty. These two things are connected. For this reason, the Nano trial cannot simply be called a closed criminal process. It is a test stone for the way Albanian democracy is being built.
Yesterday’s verdict does not undo all the moral and political damage caused over such a long time, but it makes clear that justice, however delayed, still remains the last hope of a society seeking to escape arbitrariness. This verdict will certainly influence the country’s political climate. It gives strength to the opposition, but at the same time it calls on the majority to reflect on the way it has used power. For everyone, this is a chance to understand that democracy is not measured by declarations, but by respect for freedoms and for the law.
In the end, Nano’s innocence is good news not only for him, but for Albania itself. It shows that, despite all the backwardness and authoritarian tendencies, the country still has the possibility to correct its mistakes. Precisely for this reason, this verdict is a great democratic step forward.